Ask the Author

[Charlie Sheldon]

I think I wrote about this somewhere else, maybe in the Strong Heart discussions, but cannot find it now. When I first wrote Strong Heart I used a frame like in Conrad's Heart of Darkness. In Conrad's book, a bunch of people were on the pilot boat waiting for the tide, and one of them told the tale about Kurtz and the river, and when I first did Strong Heart the frame was, William's lifeboat crashing ashore and him telling his mates the Strong Heart tale to keep them sane. So I had the chapters about the lifeboat group but then the rest of the text was what became Strong Heart. I still think in some way this is a better frame but the story was long and as I decided to take out the frame and just tell the Strong Heart tale, directly. That left me with a number of pieces about a lifeboat, Haida Gwaii, desperate sailors, and after I finished Strong Heart I went back to those pieces and built Adrift, asking, OK, if the lifeboat crashed ashore, why, and how, and what happened to thr other lifeboat, and the crew, and the relatives and friends shore? So now I have two books, hopefully each standing alone, such that someone reading Adrift can enjoy Adrift but also turn back to Strong Heart to learn the tale being told.....based on raeder's reactions that has worked which is great...

[Azrevread]

I enjoyed reading your novel Adrift! I've written a review about the novel and I hope that you read it. I thought that the story was well written and that the characters had realistic personalities. The chapters about Larry's accident and the reactions of the crew from Warhorse were stunning. The ending, especially the last three chapters were suspenseful and to me it seemed more like a prequel to a new novel rather than the ending of the book. Will the next book feature a plot segment of the trial that includes the Captain of the Seattle Express, Steve against Buckhorn Corporation? I look forward to reading the third novel of the Strong Heart series!

[Charlie Sheldon]

All will be revealed.....

[Maria-Goretti Amarachi Okechi - Catherine]

I've always believed that people who write must have gotten inspirations before doing so. What then would you say was your inspiration that led you into writing this Wonderful book?

[Charlie Sheldon]

I always wanted to write novels, always. Have written eight or nine, actually. As regards this story, I would say that when I was fishing off Cape Cod 1969-1974 I worked with a man who should have been a writer, he was a story teller, and there was seldom a night offshore after dinner and before sleep when he didn't trot out a tale, a sea story, something about fishing, or boats. Later when I went back to sea as a geezer it was the same, sea stories, this time abut the big ships. We fishermen and sailors live for those stories. My hope is to be able to carry some of that delight to the printed page....

[Adedayo+23]

I really want to know what was the inspiration behind this novel?

[vivalatianne]

Have a experienced mental blocked? If yes, how did you overcome it?

[Beatus]

Yeah...! What was that about the sensors? Was there foul-play?

[dtb]

All good questions. I have completed a third tale in the group, which answers some of what you are asking, and I am now finishing a fourth, though as I work on it I am thinking maybe they should be combined into a pretty big third tale answering these questions and others....my instinct right now, today, is to have one big book, with maps and such, maybe 150,000 words in total (length of 2 books) but it depends on what my publisher thinks. It's great readers want to know what happens of course.....

This is good news. I love maps, so that is a bonus.

[njc28]

Where did inspiration of writing the book came from ?,after finding all reviews about the book your expectations has been fulfilled if not what to do next?.

[AntonelaMaria]

What is your proudest moment while writing? And what were the most surprising things you learned while writing one or some of your characters?

[Gracedscribe]

Hello! It's great to speak with the author! Are you satisfied with the way the book has been received? Were there any surprising reactions you've encountered?

[SA2090]

What gave you the motivation to write? did you feel like giving up at any point and what made you continue?

[Sakeenah Maigari]

Please is there going to be a movie for the book?

[Sarah Schmidt]

What about the contents of the container? Are we going to get more on that? What can you tell us about the Russians? And please, please for the following book, would you mind going into a tad more detail about Myra and Sergei?